No. 11 UConn takes down No. 4 Maine in overtime, 3-2

A power play goal from Jake Richard in overtime helped the No. 11 UConn Huskies take down the No. 4 Maine Black Bears at Toscano Family Ice Forum on Friday night.

UConn consistently played from ahead, scoring the first, third and final goals.

In overtime, the Huskies didn’t touch the puck for the first 2:41 in overtime before they finally won a face-off and then drew a penalty with 2:05 remaining. On the 4-on-3 man-advantage, Trey Scott ripped a shot that bounced straight to Richard on the wing, who sent it into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.

Richard finished with a pair of goals while Kaden Shahan also lit the lamp. Callum Tung started in goal and stopped 32 of 34 shots while making a few highlight-reel saves along the way.

Before the winner, UConn struggled on special teams. Maine’s two goals came courtesy of the power play while the Huskies’ man-advantage unit went 0-3 in regulation before coming through in overtime.

Neither side generated much offense through the first five minutes, though Shahan quickly changed that. John Spetz fired a shot from the blue line that rebounded to the back post, where the freshman tucked it in to put UConn ahead 1-0.

The lead didn’t last long. A few minutes later, the Huskies went on the penalty kill after a boarding call against Ethan Whitcomb and Maine wasted no time converting with the extra man to tie the game at 1-1.

Out of the first intermission, UConn jumped the visitors. The Huskies spent the first 3.5 almost exclusively in their offensive zone — so much so that when the Black Bears iced the puck, they burned their lone timeout to get a breather.

The break didn’t stunt UConn’s momentum, though. Joey Muldowney forced a turnover along the half-boards and found Ryan Tattle in the middle of the ice. Tattle’s shot hit a Maine defenseman but ended up free in the crease, where Richard skated in and knocked the puck in to put the Huskies back on top, 2-1.

Soon after, Richard had a chance to double the advantage after drawing a penalty shot on a breakaway but he couldn’t convert. Down the other end, the Black Bears should’ve tied it on the rush, only for Tung to preserve the lead with a spectacular contortionist save.

Maine had another close call on a mad scramble in front of the net but the whistle blew before the puck crossed the line. It ultimately didn’t matter — the visitors equalized a few moments later with its second power play goal of the night.

Through 40 minutes, the score remained deadlocked at 2-2.

Despite end-to-end action at times in the third, neither side could find a winner and the contest headed to 3×3 overtime.

In the extra stanza, Tung made a stop but instead of freezing the puck when UConn desperately needed a change, he kept play alive. The freshman nearly paid for it. Moments later, Maine rang the post but the puck stayed out, so play continued.

The Huskies finally got ahold of the puck when Hudson Schandor won a crucial face-off in their defensive zone. They eventually got it to Muldowney, who weaved his way through the defense and drew a holding penalty with 2:05 left.

Despite the earlier struggles, UConn’s power play scored its 17th goal over the last 15 contests to send the crowd home happy. The unit has now found the back of the net in six straight games and 13 of its last 15.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 17-10-3 overall and 9-8-3 in Hockey East play. They also move up to seventh in the Pairwise and take sole possession of fourth place in the league standings.